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48-462: The obscure origins of the great abbey at Reims lie in a little 6th-century chapel dedicated to Saint Christopher . The abbey's success was founded on its acquisition of the relics of St. Remy in 553; subsequently gifts poured in upon it from pious donors. By the 9th century the abbey possessed about 700 domains and was perhaps the most richly endowed in France. It seems probable that secular priests were

96-653: A hippopotamus . The tooth was then removed from the altar and its veneration prohibited. Devotional medals with St. Christopher's name and image are commonly worn as pendants , especially by travelers, to show devotion and as a request for his blessing. Miniature statues are frequently displayed in automobiles . In French a widespread phrase for such medals is Regarde St Christophe et va-t-en rassuré ("Look at St Christopher and go on reassured", sometimes translated as "Behold St Christopher and go your way in safety"); Saint Christopher medals and holy cards in Spanish have

144-442: A dangerous river, where they were perishing in the attempt. The hermit promised that this service would be pleasing to Christ. After Christopher had performed this service for some time, a little child asked him to take him across the river. During the crossing, the river became swollen and the child seemed as heavy as lead, so much that Christopher could scarcely carry him and found himself in great difficulty. When he finally reached

192-487: A gold-plated reliquary holds the skull of St. Christopher. According to church tradition, a bishop showed the relics from the city wall in 1075 in order to end a siege of the city by an Italo-Norman army. The Cathedral of St. James in Šibenik holds a relic claimed to be the incorrupt leg of the saint is kept at the . It was brought over in 1484 from Constantinople through Corfu and originally intended to be transferred to Korčula . The feast day of Saint Christopher

240-693: A holy death; mariners; market carriers; motorists and drivers; sailors; storms; surfers; toothache ; mountaineering; and transportation workers. Christopher is the patron saint of many places, including: Baden, Germany ; Barga, Italy ; Brunswick, Germany ; Mecklenburg, Germany ; Rab, Croatia ; Roermond, the Netherlands ; Saint Christopher's Island ( Saint Kitts ); Toses, Catalonia, Spain ; Mondim de Basto, Portugal ; Agrinio, Greece ; Vilnius, Lithuania ; Riga, Latvia ; Havana, Cuba ; San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic ; Paete, Laguna, Philippines ; and Tivim, Goa, India . Numerous places are named for

288-551: A literal translation of the original Greek term 'dog-headed. (kunokephalos). This tradition may have translated the term as "dog-like" (canineus). This later evolved into a misreading as the Latin term Cananeus , ' Canaanite ', thus turning Christopher into a Canaanite. According to the medieval Irish Passion of St. Christopher, "This Christopher was one of the Dog-heads, a race that had the heads of dogs and ate human flesh." It

336-427: A nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person. The term may be applied to individuals to whom similar roles are ascribed in other religions . Saints often become the patrons of places where they were born or had been active. However, there were cases in medieval Europe where a city which grew to prominence obtained for its cathedral the remains or some relics of a famous saint who had lived and

384-399: A patron saint who had been connected somewhat with it, although some of the connections were tenuous. Lacking such a saint, an occupation would have a patron whose acts or miracles in some way recall the profession. For example, when the previously unknown occupation of photography appeared in the 19th century, Saint Veronica was made its patron, owing to how her veil miraculously received

432-564: A personal name. The Eastern Orthodox Church venerates Christopher of Lycea (or Lycia ) with a Feast Day on 9 May. The liturgical reading and hymns refer to his imprisonment by Decius who tempts Christopher with harlots before ordering his beheading. The Kontakion in the Fourth Tone (hymn) reads: Thou who wast terrifying both in strength and in countenance, for thy Creator's sake thou didst surrender thyself willingly to them that sought thee; for thou didst persuade both them and

480-523: A room of pottery, jewellery and weapons from Gallic civilization, as well as an exhibit of items from the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic periods. Another section of the museum features a permanent military exhibition. Saint Christopher Saint Christopher ( Greek : Ἅγιος Χριστόφορος , Hágios Christóphoros , lit.   ' Christ-bearer ' ; Latin : Sanctus Christophorus )

528-519: A wayside cross and found out that the devil feared Christ, he left him and enquired from people where to find Christ. He met a hermit who instructed him in the Christian faith. Christopher asked him how he could serve Christ. When the hermit suggested fasting and prayer, Christopher replied that he was unable to perform that service. The hermit then suggested that because of his size and strength Christopher could serve Christ by assisting people to cross

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576-577: Is celebrated on 27 July in Šibenik. Greek Orthodox churches in Grevena , Filothei , and Siatista hold other relics claimed to be those of the saint. In the Late Middle Ages, a claimed large tooth of St. Christopher was delivered to the church in Vercelli . Pilgrims came from all over Europe to look at this relic until the end of 18th century when a naturalist determined it was a tooth of

624-504: Is in use throughout the Lusophone world. Because St. Christopher offered protection to travelers and against sudden death, many churches placed images or statues of him, usually opposite the south door, so he could be easily seen. He is usually depicted as a giant, with a child on his shoulder and a staff in one hand. In England, there are more wall paintings of St. Christopher than of any other saint; in 1904, Mrs. Collier, writing for

672-558: Is the English version of the Greek name Χριστόφορος ( Christóphoros or Christóforos ). It is formed from the word elements Χριστός ( Christós , 'Christ'), and φέρειν ( phérein , 'to bear'), together signifying, "Christ bearer". Widely dispersed into other languages and cultures from the Greek, many native forms of Christopher are used both to refer to the saint and as

720-429: Is venerated by several Christian denominations. According to these traditions, he was a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman emperor Decius ( r.  249–251 ), or alternatively under the emperor Maximinus Daia ( r.  308–313 ). Churches and monasteries were named after him by the 7th century. There is no evidence for the historicity of the saint. The most famous legend connected to

768-741: The British Archaeological Association , reported 183 paintings, statues, and other representations of the saint, outnumbering all others except for the Virgin Mary . In the Eastern Orthodox Church , certain icons identify Saint Christopher with the head of a dog. Such images may carry echoes of the Egyptian dog-headed god, Anubis . Because of the association of the representation of dog-headed saint with stories of werewolves or of monstrous races,

816-418: The beatific vision , is able to intercede with God for their needs. Apart from Lutheranism and Anglicanism, it is, however, generally discouraged in other Protestant branches, such as Reformed Christianity , where the practice is considered a form of idolatry . A saint can be assigned as a patron by a venerable tradition, or chosen by election. The saint is considered a special intercessor with God and

864-403: The 16th century donated by the archbishop Robert de Lenoncourt (uncle of the cardinal of the same name ), marble capitals from the fourth century AD, furniture, jewellery, pottery, weapons and glasswork from the sixth to eighth centuries, medieval sculpture, the façade of the 13th-century musicians' House, remnants from an earlier abbey building, and also exhibits of Gallo-Roman arts and crafts and

912-698: The 18th century. Elijah and Jethro ( Shuaib ) are considered patron saints of the Druze people . In the Old Testament , Jethro was Moses ' father-in-law, a Kenite shepherd and priest of Midian . Muslim scholars and the Druze identify Jethro with the prophet Shuaib, also said to come from Midian. Shuaib or Jethro of Midian is considered an ancestor of the Druze who revere him as their spiritual founder and chief prophet. Druze identify Elijah as "al- Khidr ". Druze, like some Christians , believe that

960-412: The 6th century and had spread to France by the 9th century. The 11th-century bishop and poet Walter of Speyer gave one version, but the most popular variations originated from the 13th-century Golden Legend . According to the legendary account of his life Christopher was initially called Reprobus . He was a Canaanite , 5 cubits (7.5 feet (2.3 m)) tall and with a fearsome face. While serving

1008-583: The Prophet Elijah came back as Saint John the Baptist , since they believe in reincarnation and the transmigration of the soul, Druze believe that El Khidr and Saint John the Baptist are one and the same; along with Saint George . Due to the Christian influence on the Druze faith , two Christian saints become the Druze's favorite venerated figures: Saint George and Saint Elijah. Thus, in all

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1056-601: The Roman numerus Marmaritarum ('Unit of the Marmaritae'). He was reported to be of enormous size, with the head of a dog instead of a man. This was in line with the cultural beliefs of the time, which held that typical Marmaritae were tall, strong, and rascally; being a cynocephalus was also consistent with this image. Roman writer Pliny the Elder reported that the " Cynamolgi cynocephali , of Ethiopia were men with

1104-652: The Romanesque church was to create a grander and more spacious interior for the shrine of St Remy. The shrine was detached from its previous location, next to the altar, and moved further east. Among the illustrious later abbots, all drawn from the higher nobility, may be mentioned: Henri de Lorraine (1622–1641), who affiliated the abbey to the Congregation of St. Maur ; Jacques-Nicolas Colbert (1665), later archbishop of Rouen ; Charles Maurice Le Tellier (1680–1710); and Joseph de Rochechouart , appointed abbot by

1152-650: The Russian Orthodox Church proscribed the depiction of the saint with a dog head in the 18th century. The roots of that iconography lie in a hagiographic narrative set during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian , which tells of a man named Reprebus , (also, Rebrebus or Reprobus ; 'the reprobate' or 'scoundrel'). He was captured by Roman forces fighting against tribes dwelling to the west of Egypt in Cyrenaica and forced to join

1200-472: The first guardians of the relics, but were succeeded by the Benedictines . From 780 to 945 the archbishops of Reims served as its abbots. At the abbey Charlemagne received Pope Leo III . In 1005 the abbot Aviard undertook to rebuild the church of St-Remy, and for twenty years the work went on uninterruptedly before vaulting collapsed, no doubt from insufficient buttressing . Abbot Theodoric erected

1248-489: The heads of dogs." Pliny's work, The Natural History was, during the first century A.D., a well-respected compendium of Roman science. It reports accepted "knowledge" about people from Cyrenaica . Pliny notes that these "dog-headed men" resided in "Ethiopia"—a name used to encapsulate areas of Africa West and South of Alexandrian Egypt by contemporary Romans. Reprebus and the unit were later transferred to Syrian Antioch , where bishop Peter of Attalia baptised him and where he

1296-635: The heavenly advocates for specific Muslim empires , nations , cities , towns , and villages . Martin Lings wrote: "There is scarcely a region in the empire of Islam which has not a Sufi for its Patron Saint." As the veneration accorded saints often develops purely organically in Islamic climates, in a manner different from Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity , "patron saints" are often recognized through popular acclaim rather than through official declaration. Traditionally, it has been understood that

1344-518: The imprint of Christ 's face after she wiped off the blood and sweat. The veneration or commemoration and recognition of patron saints or saints in general is found in Catholicism (including Eastern Catholicism ), Eastern Orthodoxy , Oriental Orthodoxy , and among some Lutherans and Anglicans . According to the Catholic catechism a person's patron saint, having already attained

1392-562: The infant Jesus across a river on his shoulders. Small images of him are often worn around the neck, on a bracelet, carried in a pocket, or placed in vehicles. He is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers . The Eastern Church tradition depicts the saint as a cynocephalus ('dog-headed creature') in a literal interpretation of its legendary tradition. Legends about the life and death of Saint Christopher first appeared in Greece in

1440-588: The king in 1745. Many valuable objects from the abbey were looted in the French Revolutionary period and the Holy Ampulla of the coronation of the kings of France kept in the abbey was destroyed in 1793, but the 12th-century stained glass remains. The Abbey of Saint-Remi, together with the nearby cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims and Palace of Tau , became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. The museum contains tapestries from

1488-462: The king of Canaan, he took it into his head to go and serve "the greatest king there was". He went to the king who was reputed to be the greatest, but one day he saw the king cross himself at the mention of the devil. On thus learning that the king feared the devil , he departed to look for the devil. He came across a band of marauders, one of whom declared himself to be the devil, so Christopher decided to serve him. But when he saw his new master avoid

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1536-463: The local king, he refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods. The king tried to win him by riches and by sending two beautiful women to tempt him. Christopher converted the women to Christianity, as he had already converted thousands in the city. The king ordered him to be killed. Various attempts failed, but finally Christopher was beheaded. The name Christopher , as used in the Anglophone world,

1584-466: The magnificent surviving basilica which Pope Leo IX dedicated in 1049 and to which he granted many privileges. The abbey library and its schools were of such high repute that Pope Alexander III wrote a commendatory letter to the Abbot Peter, which survives. The years of around 1170 to 1180 brought further rebuilding, this time to the choir. The purpose of replacing the short eastern section of

1632-698: The names of the state ministers of the Byzantine Empire and those church ministers who were involved in the laying of the foundation stone, the construction or the consecration of the church. The inscription attests to the veneration of Saint Christopher in Chalcedon in the 5th century. A nunnery in Galatia was consecrated to Saint Christopher around the year 600. The Museum of Sacred Art at Saint Justine's Church (Sveta Justina) in Rab , Croatia claims

1680-511: The other side, he said to the child: "You have put me in the greatest danger. I do not think the whole world could have been as heavy on my shoulders as you were." The child replied: "You had on your shoulders not only the whole world but Him who made it. I am Christ your king, whom you are serving by this work." The child then vanished. Christopher later visited Lycia and there comforted the Christians who were being martyred. Brought before

1728-453: The patron saint of a particular place prays for that place's wellbeing and for the health and happiness of all who live therein. However, the Wahhabi and Salafi movements have latterly attacked the veneration of saints (as patron or otherwise), which they claim are a form of idolatry or shirk . More mainstream Sunni clerics have critiqued this argument since Wahhabism first emerged in

1776-537: The phrase Si en San Cristóbal confías, de accidente no morirás ("If you trust St. Christopher, you won't die in an accident"). St. Christopher was a widely popular saint, especially revered by athletes, mariners , ferrymen , and travelers. He is revered as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers . He holds patronage of things related to travel and travelers—against lightning and pestilence —and patronage for archers ; bachelors ; boatmen; soldiers; bookbinders ; epilepsy ; floods; fruit dealers; fullers ; gardeners ;

1824-440: The proper advocate of a particular locality, occupation, etc., and merits a special form of religious observance. A term in some ways comparable is "titular", which is applicable only to a church or institution. Although Islam has no codified doctrine of patronage on the part of saints, it has nevertheless been an important part of both Sunni and Shia Islamic traditions that particularly important classical saints have served as

1872-463: The saint recounts that after converting to Christianity, he devoted his life to carrying travelers across a river. One day he carried an unknown young boy across a river after which the boy revealed himself as Christ. Because of his help to travelers, he became the patron saint of travelers. In the iconography of the Western Church , the saint is often depicted as a giant with a staff carrying

1920-580: The saint, including Saint Christopher Island , the official name of the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts, and St. Christopher Island in Antarctica . Many places are named after the saint in other languages, for example Saint-Christophe is a common French place name; similarly, San Cristóbal is a place name in many Spanish-speaking or Spanish-influenced countries, and the São Cristóvão

1968-452: The villages inhabited by Druzes and Christians in central Mount Lebanon a Christian church or Druze maqam is dedicated to either one of them. According to scholar Ray Jabre Mouawad the Druzes appreciated the two saints for their bravery: Saint George because he confronted the dragon and the Prophet Elijah because he competed with the pagan priests of Baal and won over them. In both cases

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2016-438: The women that sought to arouse in thee the fire of lust, and they followed thee in the path of martyrdom. And in torments thou didst prove to be courageous. Wherefore, we have gained thee as our great protector, O great Christopher. The Roman Martyrology remembers him on 25 July. The Tridentine calendar commemorates him on the same day only in private Masses . By 1954 his commemoration had been extended to all Masses, but it

2064-513: Was buried elsewhere, thus making them the city's patron saint – such a practice conferred considerable prestige on the city concerned. In Latin America and the Philippines , Spanish and Portuguese explorers often named a location for the saint on whose feast or commemoration day they first visited the place, with that saint naturally becoming the area's patron. Occupations sometimes have

2112-615: Was commonly accepted at the time that there were several types of races, the Cynocephalus, or dog-headed people, being one of many believed to populate the world. The German bishop and poet Walter of Speyer portrayed St. Christopher as a giant of a cynocephalic species in the land of the Chananeans who ate human flesh and barked. Eventually, Christopher met the Christ child, regretted his former behavior, and received baptism. He, too,

2160-513: Was dropped in 1970 as part of the general reorganization of the calendar of the Roman rite as mandated by the motu proprio , Mysterii Paschalis . His commemoration is of Roman tradition, in view of the relatively late date (about 1550) and limited manner in which it was accepted into the Roman calendar, but his feast continues to be observed locally. A stone inscription of 2 m × 1 m (6 ft 7 in × 3 ft 3 in)

2208-582: Was found in the ruins of a church in the ruins of the ancient city Chalcedon near present day Istanbul . The inscription bears witness to the laying of the foundation stone, the construction and the consecration of a church in the name of "Saint Christopher's Martyrdom". The inscription states that this Church of St Christopher dates back to the time of the Fourth Ecumenical Council, the Council of Chalcedon . The inscription also mentions

2256-488: Was martyred in 308. Scholars have suggested that the Byzantine depiction of St. Christopher as dog-headed may have resulted from his identification as a member of the tribe of the Marmaritae who were a land of cannibals and dog-headed peoples. The Greek tradition interpreted this literally, which led to Byzantine icons often depicting St. Christopher with a dog's head. The Latin tradition in the opposite direction away from

2304-405: Was rewarded with a human appearance, whereupon he devoted his life to Christian service and became an athlete of God , one of the soldier saints . Patron saint A patron saint , patroness saint , patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism , Lutheranism , Anglicanism , Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of

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